Azerbaijan court reduces jail term of activist Zamin Zaki

Zamin Zaki

An appeal court in Azerbaijan has reduced the prison sentence of social worker and activist Zamin Zaki, who was jailed as part of a wider crackdown on civil society groups.

The Baku Court of Appeal reduced Zaki’s sentence from seven years and six months to seven years and three months on 1 July.

The reduction followed the dismissal of a charge of office forgery because the statute of limitations on the alleged offence had expired.

However, the court, presided over by Judge Emin Aliyev, upheld Zaki’s convictions on charges of large-scale money laundering and abuse of power.

Zaki was originally sentenced in March by the Baku Grave Crimes Court, where state prosecutors had sought an eight-year prison term.

He is one of approximately 15 civil society representatives who have faced criminal prosecution under what is locally known as the "NGO case".

Several other prominent figures remain in custody under the same investigation. They include Bashir Suleymanli, head of the Institute for Citizens’ Rights, and Mammad Alpay, director of the Election Monitoring Alliance.

Another figure linked to the case, Asaf Ahmadov, who heads the Ganja Regional Community Centre, was sentenced to eight years in prison by a regional court on 17 June.

Other defendants in the wider case have been placed under alternative restrictive measures while awaiting trial.

The defendants have consistently denied all allegations, describing the charges against them as groundless and politically motivated.